Reunion
by Scealai
Summary: Sequel to 'Family.' Angel has to deal with his grief while trying to reconnect with his lost son
1. Default Chapter

Title: Reunion  
Author: T. C.  
Rating: R  
Pairing: Angel/Cordelia  
Summary: Sequel to 'Family.' Angel has to deal with Cordelia's death   
and reconnecting with his lost son.  
Disclaimer: The characters of Angel belong to Joss Whedon, Twentieth   
Century Fox and the WB.  
Spoilers: This season of Angel is spoiled up to the current episodes  
and I've also used some of the rumors floating around as to  
what is going to happen in the future eps and the season  
finale.  
***********************************************************************  
  
Part One  
  
Time was irrelevant. Angel had no idea how long he had sat on the  
floor holding Cordelia and Connor in his arms. Minutes. Hours. Days.  
It could have been a moment. It could have been forever. The only  
sound was Connor's hitching cries and broken pleas for forgiveness.  
Angel's tears were silent. He couldn't do this, he couldn't deal with  
this much pain. His heart wasn't broken, it had disintegrated - turned  
to ash as surely as if the stake had been driven through it and not his  
love.  
  
"Angel, Cordelia, we're back," Fred's sang out from the lobby. Fred   
had a pleasant lilting voice, but right then it hurt Angel's ears. He  
knew Gunn would be with her and he wished they would just leave. Leave  
him alone with Cordelia and Connor. They could stay like this, wrapped  
in each other's arms and Angel could pretend that Cordelia had just  
fallen asleep if only he could block out the smell of her blood. They   
had fallen asleep with Connor between them a lot of times when he had   
been a baby. Other people would only make this real. They would make   
him let her go. "Angel?" Fred's voice was above him, wary and   
uncertain. "What's wrong with Cordelia?"  
  
No, no, no, no. They had to leave. One of them was going to say it  
out loud and make it real. They had to leave. A soft warning growl   
rumbled in Angel's chest.   
  
"Charles?" Fred whispered softly. She looked up at her boyfriend  
with wide, scared eyes. She needed him to tell her everything was  
okay and that this wasn't what it looked like. He put his arm around  
her and squeezed her shoulder instead.  
  
"What happened, man?" Gunn grimaced as he stared at Cordelia's open  
blank eyes. He had seen that emptiness in the eyes of many of his  
comrades who had fallen in their fight against demons and vampires.   
But this was Cordelia. It could be another freaky half-demon side  
effect or a vision coma. This was Cordelia, she didn't have to be....  
  
"She's dead." Lorne made the pronouncement no one wanted to even  
think about. He and Groo had shown up without any of them noticing.   
He had known it right away. The waves of grief coming off Angel and   
the kid were palatable and from Cordelia there was...nothing.   
  
"Princess!" Groo pushed past Lorne, Gunn and Fred and rushed toward  
Cordelia and Angel. He was met with the blazing yellow eyes and   
an enraged snarl, but not just from Angel. The kid growled too and  
although his eyes didn't turn yellow and he didn't fang out, he was  
still impressively intimidating given his age.  
  
Gunn caught Groo and held him back. "That doesn't look like a good   
idea."   
  
"But, my Princess..."  
  
"Is gone, Groo." Lorne shook his head sadly. "There's nothing you can  
do and I doubt very much that Angel is going to give her up anytime  
soon. You might as well go back to her apartment."  
  
"No." Groo's usually placid face hardened. "I will not mope about. I  
will honor my Princess. I shall go back to Pylea and reclaim it in  
her name." Groo tore away from Gunn and ran from the building.  
  
Angel curled himself back up around Cordelia and Connor. His ridges  
melted away now that the threat of being separated from her was gone.  
He wanted them to all go away. He wanted them to close the door   
behind them and forget that he was even here because his life was  
over.   
  
"Angel." Fred started forward, but Gunn and Lorne stopped her.  
  
"He's not ready, Sweetpea. I think it's best that we leave them   
alone." Lorne shepherded Gunn and Fred out of the office and closed   
the door. "He and Connor need time to grieve in their own little   
family unit. Tomorrow we, the extended family, will take over."  
  
"Connor? You mean the little guy Cordy found is Connor?" Gunn jabbed  
his thumb at the closed office door. "How do you know?"  
  
"Same basic aura, it's darker, but considering who his parents are and   
where he's been...." Lorne shrugged. "I thought we should let them   
sort things out alone. I didn't think things would turn out like   
this. Poor Cordelia."  
  
"What do you mean? What happened in there?" Gunn frowned angrily. He  
didn't understand and he didn't like it. All he knew was that someone  
he loved was dead and there was nothing present for him to kill.  
  
"Connor did it." Fred's voice was sad and filled with soft conviction.  
Tears welled up in her eyes when Lorne didn't correct her. "Time must  
have moved differently in the Hell dimension Holtz took him to. What   
was weeks to us was years to him and Holtz...he poisoned his mind   
against Angel." Fred turned quickly and buried her face in Charles'   
chest to muffle her violent sobs.  
  
"I could feel the hate coming off the lad, but I thought that Cordy   
would be able to talk some sense into him. He liked her." Lorne  
covered his eyes with his hand. Other people's pain he could deal   
with, but his own... "Look, kiddies, I can't do this now. No use  
doing any random speculation, we'll get the whole story tomorrow. Take  
Freddie home, Gunn."  
  
Gunn nodded and he led Fred out of the hotel. Lorne glanced back at   
the closed office door. He grabbed a jacket from the coat rack and  
went out the back door. He could find some place else to be for the  
night.  
  
*****  
  
It was night time, the sun had set hours ago. Angel had sensed it in  
the back of his mind out of habit. It didn't matter, he had no where  
to go. Connor had fallen asleep at some point. His deep even   
breathing was occasionally broken by a snuffling sob or plaintive  
whine. His son still hated him. Angel knew that the same way he had  
known when Connor had been hungry or cranky as a baby. The only reason  
the child let him hold him now was because he was in shock over the  
death of his mother and agonizing about his role in it.   
  
"Look after your son, Angel." Those were Cordelia's last words to him.  
She was dying and still she had thought of him - gave him a reason not  
to walk out into the sun. The question was whether or not Connor would  
let his father take care of him. What had Holtz told him? Probably a   
lot of the truth, but hadn't tempered it with any knowledge about   
demons and souls and being a warrior for the Powers That Be. Things   
that Angel should have told him. Things he would have told him if he   
had been given a chance. Connor had been gone for a month, but it was   
obvious that Angel had missed at least ten years of his son's life. He  
wouldn't see his first steps or hear his first word. Cordy had said it  
would be 'Da Da,' but only because that was every child's first word   
and he shouldn't let it go to his head when it happened or anything.   
She had smiled when she had said it and then grabbed Connor away from   
him. She had held the baby close and bounced around the room cooing,   
"Cordy, say Cordy, Connor." Angel wanted him to call her 'Mommy.' He  
didn't say it though.  
  
There had been so many things Angel hadn't said to Cordelia. So many  
unvoiced thoughts. "I didn't know you when we lived in Sunnydale. I  
knew that there had to be more to you than the pampered princess you  
presented to the world or else you would have left town instead of   
staying and joining Buffy and her friends. I was just too wrapped up  
in Buffy to care about getting to know you or any of her friends really  
well." Angel felt Connor shift beneath him and he eased his hold on   
them. He opened his eyes and watched his son sleeping with his head  
pillowed on top of Cordelia's breasts. He couldn't see the stake that  
had ripped through her. He could almost pretend that she was just  
sleeping too. That she would wake up and blink sleepily at him, a soft  
smile gracing her lips. Only he couldn't because her eyes were open.  
Angel caressed her cheek before passing his hand over her eyelids and  
closing them. "When I first saw you at that party, it was nice to see  
a familiar face, but I really didn't want to see you again and I was  
reluctant to hire you. I thought having you around would be a constant  
reminder of Buffy. Doyle played on my old-fashioned chivalrous nature  
and emphasized how much you needed a job and to tell you the truth, I  
didn't think you would stick around. He was right about one thing  
though, you did have a humanizing influence. You brought me life,   
Cordelia, and a family. I feel alive because of you."   
  
Angel continued to talk. He told her everything. Every thought or   
feeling he had over the years was said out loud. It was too late, but  
he had to tell her before he could let go.  
  
*****  
  
"This isn't a good idea." Gunn shook his head. He stopped Fred before  
she could knock on the door.  
  
"Wesley is Cordelia's friend. He has a right to know what happened."  
Fred pulled her hand out of Gunn's grasp and rapped on the door before  
he could stop her again. "He would want to know."  
  
"He doesn't want anything to do with us."  
  
The door opened and Fred gasped at the person who stood there. She  
barely recognized him. Wesley was unshaven and the ragged scar was  
red and anger across his neck. He glared at them and Fred took a step  
back. "W..Wesley."  
  
"Whatever it is, I won't help you." Wesley started to shut the door.  
  
"Cordelia's dead," Fred blurted out and was relieved when he opened the  
door again. He wasn't completely lost to them. He still cared or else  
he would have shut it. "Connor came back somehow. Cordelia found him   
on the street, none of us knew who he was except Lorne. We left them  
alone and when we got back Cordelia was dead."  
  
"How?" Wesley's eyes looked through them. It was spooky, but he was  
talking to them and he was asking about Cordelia.  
  
"A stake. It was driven through her chest."  
  
Wesley nodded. "Thank you for telling me." He closed the door.  
  
"I told you this was a bad idea." Gunn brushed the tears from Fred's  
cheeks. He tangled his fingers with hers and squeezed her hand. And  
he hated Wesley a little more for hurting her.  
  
To be continued.... 


	2. Chapter Two

Part Two  
  
Black was a color that gave Cordelia mixed feelings. It was the   
stereotypical representation of evil - the black hat. It was the color  
of the shadows of the night that hid everything that she and her   
friends had fought against since highschool. It was Angel's favorite   
color. The color black was something she hated and loved, because it  
reminded her of the things she hated and the vampire she loved. Yes,  
she loved Angel, damn him, but it's not like she could do anything   
about it. She was dead. Dead and surrounded by Angel's favorite   
color because apparently the Powers That Be had forgotten to pay the  
power bill and there was no light at the end of her tunnel.  
  
She was going to Heaven. Demon DNA or not, Cordelia Chase belonged in  
Heaven. Sure, she had been a supreme bitch for most of her life, but  
the fighting vampires and demons, helping to stop the apocalypse on   
her graduation, and enduring the skull-cracking visions more than made   
up for a few catty comments. And the being part demon thing, that was   
for a good cause - a selfless act - no one could have endured the pain   
and confusion of the visions like she had. Okay, so maybe someone else  
could have and she had been a little bit selfish in her decision.   
Maybe she liked it when Angel would comfort her and hold her after a  
vision or the guilty/grateful look in his eyes. Maybe she liked being  
needed by him, by everyone in their family. She still didn't belong in  
this dark void for the rest of eternity. This was not her destiny.   
Any minute someone would come and get her and take her to wherever you   
went you were dead. Then she could watch over Angel and Connor. Lorne  
and Fred and Gunn. And Wesley. She would watch over Wesley too. Any  
minute, there would be light and a guide to take her away from this  
awful blackness. Any minute.  
  
*****  
  
Dawn was approaching. The first rays of light would be threading pink  
through the twilight gray of the sky. Lorne, Fred, and Gunn would   
return. They would talk and Angel would have no choice but to listen.  
He would have to give her up and they would expect him to get on with  
his life without her. Connor whined from in between them. He woke up  
and struggled to get out of Angel's arms. Angel let him go and the  
boy scuttled into a corner and glared at him. He wiped at his nose  
angrily and sniffled. Angel dropped his gaze from his son's harsh  
glare to Cordelia's beautiful face. He didn't want to waste what  
little time he had left with her in a staring contest with his son who  
hated him.  
  
Without Connor between them, Angel had an unobstructed view of   
Cordelia. It was strange to see her so still. He traced his   
fingertips across her brow and along the curve of her cheek. "I love  
you," Angel whispered. He waited. He waited for her eyes to blink   
slowly open, her hazel orbs unfocused and confused. It didn't happen.  
She lay there still as stone a trail of dried blood marring the   
startling paleness of her cheek. He couldn't stand it anymore. Angel  
growled and gripped the stake, wrenching it from her body. The dark  
red congealed blood made a pool in the wound. The light wood of the  
point of the stake was stained red with that blood. Angel held it  
between them, the stake pointed at his dead heart. It had been meant  
for him.  
  
"Angel!" Fred's startled cry made him look up. Her hands were   
covering her mouth and her eyes were wide. Then angry as her hands  
clenched into fists. "What do you think you're doing?" She stalked  
toward him and took the stake out of his hand. "This is not what   
Cordelia would want. Especially in front of Connor." Fred walked over  
to the boy and scooped him up in her arms. She cuddled him close and  
rubbed his back.  
  
"He meant to stake me." Angel watched Fred comfort his son, her back  
turned to him. Over her shoulder, Connor still glared at him. "I  
should be dust."  
  
"Well you're not," Fred snapped. She turned around to face Angel. It  
was clear that her purpose was to be the strong one now. Cordelia had  
always been the one Angel had shared his grief with - first when Buffy  
had died and then when they had lost Connor. Now it would have to be  
her. She would have to take care of Cordelia's 'boys' - including  
Wesley, she hadn't given up on him yet. Fred's voice gentled. "We  
gave you time with her, Angel. Now you have to let her go."  
  
A growl escaped from Angel's lips and he instinctively pulled Cordelia  
closer to him. He relaxed a bit when he realized that no one was   
going to try and take her away from him. They were going to let him do  
that on his own. What if he couldn't do it?  
  
"What are we going to do about..." Gunn shrugged uncomfortably and  
shuffled his feet. "We can't call the cops."  
  
"We have to find a doctor who will sign off on it as an accidental  
death. And a funeral home that won't ask questions or report us to  
the authorities." Fred paced the office, the stake and Connor still in  
her arms. "Cordelia deserves a proper service."   
  
Again Angel couldn't stop voicing his disapproval in the form of a low  
growl at the plans to take his love away from him. They were already  
planning her funeral. She would be buried in the ground where he   
wouldn't ever see her smile again. He would never hear her laugh.  
Hold her while she cried. Angel combed his fingers through Cordelia's  
hair. This was just her body, his Cordy was gone. He had to convince  
himself of that before he could let her go. Her soul was gone. It  
was gone and it wouldn't be coming back. "Willow." Angel looked up,  
a sudden hope lighting his eyes. "Willow brought Buffy back from the  
dead. We have to call her."  
  
"Sorry, Angel, but that isn't possible. Your little witchy friend   
can't bring Cordelia back." Lorne grimaced as he delivered the bad  
news.   
  
"Why not?" Angel demanded. "Because Buffy was the Slayer and Cordelia  
just a Seer? She fought for the Powers too. She's not insignificant."  
  
"No, no, of course not." Lorne held out his hands in a placating  
gesture. "Cordelia was an important warrior for the Powers, but the  
kind of magic it takes to resurrect the dead is dangerous. It's not  
something a witch can do everyday or even twice in her lifetime without  
major consequences. It could cost this Willow her life and I don't   
think our sweet Cordy would want that."  
  
"She wouldn't." Angel hung his head. It had been stupid to hope.  
Everyone he loved was eventually destroyed. Buffy. Cordelia. Connor.  
The little boy had wrapped himself around Fred and had started to cry  
again. Every once in a while he would snuffle a 'sorry, Momma' and  
reach out toward Cordelia. He was hurting. He thought this was his  
fault, but it was Angel's. It was because of him that Holtz had   
stolen Connor and then sent him back filled with hate and the urge to  
kill him. It was because of him that Cordelia had become half-demon   
and given up a normal life. She should have been a famous sitcom star.  
This was his fault and he couldn't let his son wallow in guilt. He   
stood up with Cordelia still cradled in his arms. "Do you know a   
doctor that specializes in demons, Lorne?"  
  
"Yeah, I know a guy. He can get us death certificate and I know of a  
demon funeral home that can handle the arrangements. We'll plan a nice  
midnight service." Lorne crossed over to the phone and started to make  
some calls.  
  
Angel just nodded. He would have to go to Cordelia's apartment and   
pick out something nice for her to wear. And he would have to tell  
Dennis. Cordelia's ghostly room-mate wouldn't be worried yet. She had  
spent the odd night here at the hotel. And he would have to call some  
one in Sunnydale. Hopefully one of them would know how to contact   
Cordy's parents. There was so much to do, but he would do it for her.  
He loved her.  
  
*****  
  
The apartment was dark. The curtains were drawn tightly to keep out  
the afternoon sun. Wesley felt it was appropriate. He was in a dark   
mood, a dark place. He sat on his couch repeatedly brushing his thumb  
over the healing scar on his throat. He had almost died in that park.  
Cordelia was dead. She hadn't visited him in the hospital. She hadn't  
even called. Not that he had expected her to. Cordelia was loyal to   
her friends and she expected that same loyalty in return. She had been  
loyal to him and Gunn when Angel had betrayed them - had refused to   
even speak the vampire's name. It would have surprised Wesley if she   
had behaved differently during his own 'beige' period.  
  
"I'm sorry, Cordelia," Wesley whispered hoarsely. He wished he had   
been able to tell her in person. Although he doubted that Angel would  
have allowed him to get near her. He knew that he wouldn't welcome at  
any funeral service that they would have either. It didn't matter. He  
wasn't going to prostrate himself and beg for their forgiveness. He  
had done what he had done with the best of intentions. If it landed   
him in hell, than so be it.  
  
A timid knock on the door prompted a frustrated sigh. It was probably  
Fred. The girl wouldn't give up on trying to reunite him with his  
'family.' She had already left messages asking him to call. Wesley  
got up and crossed over to the door. She wouldn't leave until he   
answered it and told her to go away. He pulled open the door. "Fred,  
I..." There was no one there. A tug on his pant leg made Wesley look  
down. A ten year old boy smiled up at him through the tears that   
rolled down his cheeks. "Connor?"  
  
"Uncle Wesley, Momma's dead."  
  
To be continued.... 


End file.
